The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses deep grief at the death of a veteran leader of the Party, Sivaji Patnaik. Patnaik was a former member of the Central Committee of the Party and also a former Secretary of its Odisha State Committee. He died on May 23, 2022. He was 92 years old.
Born in a family of freedom fighters, Sivaji Patnaik joined the student movement and the undivided Communist Party at a very young age and very soon was elected to the State Executive Council of the CPI. In 1964 when the Party split, he played a crucial role in the formation of the CPI(M). He served as the Secretary of the Party State Committee from 1972 to 1990. He was elected to the Central Committee at the 10th Congress of the Party in 1978 and continued till 1989.
He worked both in the Kisan movement and also the Trade Union movement in the state. When the CITU was formed in Odisha he was elected as its first President.
Elected on three different occasions to the Lok Sabha from the Bhubaneswar seat he was widely respected for his honesty and integrity.
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) conveys its heartfelt condolences to his wife Pratibha, three sons, daughter and other members of the family.